The Old and New Scarf
by MiraiMangaka
Summary: She had asked his mother what his favorite color was. She wasn't entirely surprised when the answer she received was red. He was from the Fire Nation, and he was a fire bender. Of course his favorite color was red...


**I wrote this several months ago and put it on Deviant Art... I had been meaning to put it up here... Not sure why I didn't. Anyway, this was written just after episode 5 had been released, so... yeah... not exactly canon :)**

**The Old Scarf**

She had asked his mother what his favorite color was. She wasn't entirely surprised when the answer she received was red. He was from the Fire Nation, and he was a fire bender. Of course his favorite color was red.

After buying the nicest red yarn she could afford along with some knitting needles, she got to work on her gift for him.

As a woman who was also an earth bender, she wasn't very good at homey things like knitting or sewing, but for him, she was determined to try.

There were several times where she wanted to give up. However, when she spent some time with him, she realized just how much she loved him, and she would go back to work on that gift.

It didn't turn out as nice as she had hoped. There were several… areas where she had messed up and tried to fix it, but it was as nice as it was going to get.

She gave it to him on the day of their wedding. She blushed as she handed him the hand made scarf. She didn't see the soft smile on his face as he accepted her gift.

"I know you like the color red," she said as she handed it to him. "So I made that for you."

"Thanks," he replied as he wrapped it around his neck. She finally looked up at him and her blush went darker when he kissed her.

"But, I like the color green more."

**The New Scarf**

Korra found it after everything was over. Rather, she found what was left of it. It was in tatters, shredded and burned. He had abandoned it in an effort to save Asami who was unconscious. She could still remember the look on his face as he made the decision to leave it.

Carefully, Korra gathered what she could find into a leather pouch she brought with her and tied it to Naga's saddle. She went to Pema for help, as she was no good at these things, and she had figured Pema would know how to fix it.

"Korra," said Pema sadly. "You can't fix this. You'll have to make another one entirely."

Korra shook her head, her mind immediately going to that moment under that tree in the park. "No, this scarf is too important to just throw away."

Pema nodded and thought for a moment. "Well, perhaps…. perhaps we can buy some yarn and knit a new scarf out of the old one."

"I'll do it," said Korra.

"Of course," said Pema. She handed Korra some money. "Go and buy some yarn. When you come back, I have some needles you can use, and I'll help you get started."

After that, Korra began to work on Mako's new scarf. There were plenty of times where Korra nearly gave up. She would throw it at the wall in her room before marching out. However, every time, she would find Mako sitting alone, rubbing at his throat where his scarf would have been. Her mind's eye would go back to the tears he shed as e left his father's scarf behind.

With that, she would run back to her room and continue her work almost feverishly, tears gushing from her eyes from the powerful emotions coursing through her.

Once she was all finished, it looked more awful than before. Not only was it sloppily made by someone who had no idea what she was doing, but the yarn from the old scarf looked tacky with the brand new yarn she had used.

"Hey Korra!"

"Oh, hey, Asami!" she said hiding the scarf behind her back.

"Have you seen Mako?"

"No, I haven't. I was just going to go look for him. Why?"

"I bought this new scarf for him," said Asami as she pulled out a brand new red scarf. It looked beautiful, much better than the tattered thing Korra was currently hiding behind her back. "It's my fault that his old one got lost."

"I'm sure he doesn't blame you for it," said Korra.

"Yeah, I know. I just feel guilty," replied Asami. She looked at Korra curiously. "What did you want him for?"

"Oh, I just… wanted to show him a new air bending trick I've been working on," Korra lied.

"Ah, okay, well, could you tell him I'm looking for him?"

"Um… sure…" said Korra. With that, Asami left. Korra brought the scarf out of hiding. The hot tears burned behind her eyelids.

_Why am I doing this?_ She asked herself. _I'm not his girlfriend. I'm just a friend, just someone who helped him through the probending tournament. Just a friend who helped save his brother from the Equalists._

The tears spilled over despite her efforts to hold them back. She brought the scarf to her face where she could smell both her and Mako's scents intertwine from the scarf.

"Is it so wrong…" Her voice broke, and she gathered her breath. "Is it so wrong to want to be more?"

_I don't want to be nothing._

Burying her face into the scarf, she let out all her emotions into it. Her tears staining the red fabric as well as her cheeks.

* * *

"Hey Asami," said Mako, smiling as he approached his girlfriend. She seemed distracted by something. "Asami?"

Startled, Asami turned to Mako, her hands going behind her back. "Oh! Hey Mako!"

"Hey, Bolin said you were looking for me."

"Uh, yes," she said. "Uh, I wanted to, um… ask you if you… know what we're having for dinner tonight?"

"Well," said Mako looking very confused. "I don't know. I think Pema would be the right person to ask."

"Oh right," said Asami. "Well, um, I just ran into Korra a little while ago. She said she wanted to see you."

"Does she want to know what we're having for dinner tonight too?" he asked.

"No," said Asami, her smile growing sad. "I think she wants to give you something."

"You okay, Asami?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she said, her voice regaining some cheeriness. "I'm going to go talk to Pema." With that, Asami ran off.

* * *

"Hey, Korra," said Mako, startling Korra out of her air bending practice. After crying her heart out, she figured some practice would help her put her mind to ease, and it did, for awhile.

"Oh, hey, Mako."

"Asami said you were looking for me."

"She did?" said Korra, noticing that if Asami had seen him, why wasn't he wearing the scarf she had bought for him?

"Yeah, said you wanted to give me something."

Instantly, Korra realized that Asami knew about the scarf she had made for Mako. It made her want to cry all over again.

"Uh, yeah." She pulled out the scarf from a pouch on her belt under her pelt. "I found what was left of your old scarf and made a new one with it and some new yarn."

She handed it to him, and for a moment, he didn't take it.

"If you don't want it…"

"No! It's not that! It's just… why'd you go through all that effort?"

"I told you, didn't I? During the tournament? 'I really like you…'"

"'And I think we were meant for each other.' Yes, I remember…" he said as he carefully took the scarf from her. He wrapped it around his neck before looking back at her. "Korra, I…"

She turned away suddenly. "Asami… was going to give you a brand new scarf. I don't know why she didn't, but you may want to ask her."

"She did?"

"Yeah," said Korra. "Though, I think I know why she didn't give it to you."

Mako nodded, and he turned to leave. "You know, Korra," he said. "I'm still feeling confused, but I think…"

She took off, not wanting to hear anymore. Asami was too good a friend. She wasn't about to take advantage of that.

Mako watched her leave, knowing why. He sighed. He was hurting two people by his own indecisiveness.

However, now things were finally starting to clear, and they had been since that kiss on the pier.

"I'm sorry dad," he whispered as he brought the scarf close to his face, smelling what he knew to be Korra's tears. "I think I like the color blue more than green."


End file.
